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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. present — there
  3. drill — army training
  4. mate — a partner
  5. last — finally
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. present — a gift
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mate — to breed
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cap — a lid
  17. present — the time now
  18. last — final
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. kick — in football
  23. last — to go on
  24. stock — goods

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com